Algus' Birthday
by RamzaDelita
Summary: Algus takes a walk through Sweegy Woods on his birthday...something happens! Dedicated to CRISIS HAYLO!!!!!


Algus' Birthday  
  
Authors Note:I use many characters from the game that arent in your party or die. For instence, characters in Ramza's party include Ovelia, Delita, Algus, and others that you usually dont get! It takes place after Alma is rescued and the Bloody Angel is destroyed, so act like Ramza and Alma did survive and went on with their friends! ^_^  
  
"Happy Birthday to me…Happy Birthday to me…" sung Algus very quietly and gloomily as he walked through Sweegy Woods. He couldn't believe it. It was his birthday and he was alone. Ramza's entire squad had forced him out of the Inn they were staying at in Dorter Trade City. He didn't know why, but they all seemed very angry when they abruptly woke him up during a nap and told him that he should go walking. When he asked them if they would like to come along, they had all shouted "No!" at the same time and forced him out of the Inn. Algus couldn't remember ever having a worse start to a birthday. He wasn't exactly expecting anything, but he had hoped that they would at least say happy birthday or at least not be furious at him for no reason at all. Algus felt terrible, but he was used to it. All of his life people had hated him for being a snob. He had never once received a birthday present in his entire life, not even from his family. He had never had any friends and was always being bullied and beat up. Algus thought he really had friends this time. He had become a whole lot less snobbish in the past year with Ramza, and he thought the group liked him, but he was wrong. They hated him like everyone else! He would be alone forever! Not even his girlfriend, Rafa should really like him! He was nothing and would always have nothing!  
  
Sighing, Algus walked on, staring at the trees and flowers by the trail in the forest. It was a beautiful day, filled with sunshine and a cool breeze. The birds sang happily on the top of their branches. Algus smirked. He had always loved nature and its entire splendor. He continued to walk along the dirt path until he heard an odd sound in a very large bush to the right of him. He stared at it for a moment, his head tilted to a point of interest. The bush was shaking, the entire bush, which surprised Algus. He knew a forest creature or two couldn't be doing it, as it was a humongous bush. Ramza's entire party could easily hide in it, along with a couple of monsters. 'Of course!' though Algus suddenly, 'Monsters are in the bush!' Algus shook slightly, backing away. He had forgotten his Perseus Bow (which he had proudly found in the Deep Dungeon) at the Inn. He was in the wilderness without so much as the smallest dagger, and he suspected that monsters were going to ambush him. He turned around slowly, and started to walk away, when his mouth was cover from behind by a furry hand. Algus tried to scream, but another hand came around his waist and punched his stomach brutally, silencing him, except for a muffled groan. Algus knew he had been right about the monsters in the bush, and now he regretted dearly that he had forgotten his bow. He wriggled violently, trying to free himself from the bond of the unseen monster, but the creature simply impaled his stomach again, ceasing Algus' attempts to break free. The monster started to drag Algus into the still rustling bush. Algus was petrified. His eyes were wide opened in shock and he dared not scream again for fear of having the wind knocked out of him. Algus closed his eyes tightly, hoping that this was all a bad dream, but when he opened his eyes, a worse sight met him. He was in the giant bush, and he was surprised to see that it was completely hollowed out. There were monsters everywhere, but Algus was too scared to count them. All he knew was that horrible creatures surrounded him, he was unarmed, and that he was being held down, about to face unbearable tortures. A tear slid down Algus' shaking cheek. His lips trembled violently and a soft whimper was let out. One of the monsters punched him in the stomach fiercely, obviously contempt with keeping Algus silent. Algus let out a small, whining moan, unable to keep it in. Several monsters yanked at his silky blond hair, causing him to yell loudly. All of a sudden, several monsters started kicking Algus brutally, over and over while one monster held his arms down. Algus' wind was knocked out of him as he shouted loudly, trying to cease the pain and torment.  
  
"Please…stop!" Algus pleaded, but it was use. The monsters continued to pummel him, making Algus groan louder. Suddenly, Algus heard several voices.  
  
"I hope we didn't seem too harsh…" he heard the voice of Agrias saying.  
  
"It's ok if we came off a bit mean…" he heard his girlfriend, Rafa saying. Algus wriggled frantically in his bonds. He tried to scream for help, but several monsters had covered his mouth, trying to keep him as still and quiet as possible. Algus had no choice but to listen to his companions, "I mean, Algus will be so happy once he sees the surprise party we're putting on, that he will forget how we were before. Besides, we didn't want to let him know we knew it was his birthday," Rafa giggled hysterically, "Ohhhhhhh, I just can't wait to see the look on his beautiful face when he sees it!"  
  
"Calm down, Rafa," said Malak, Rafa's older brother, "Let's not get over excited."  
  
"So, where shall the party be held?" Ramza asked curiously. Algus couldn't believe his ears. They really did like him, and they were planning a birthday party! Suddenly, Algus began to cry, but unfortunately, he could not be heard because of the monsters. Clear tears ran quickly down Algus' still shaking cheek, like a flood.  
  
"Don't you remember?" said Delita, "The party is going to be held here! That's why we came here! It's Algus most favorite spot in the whole world! Mustadio should be here later with several chemists. They'll be bringing the ingredients for the food and the party decorations. And Cloud said he might come.  
  
"I don't really like Cloud," said Agrias, "He's weird!"  
  
"Come on!" Ramza said, "The poor guy was transported out of his own world because of us! Of course he's going to seem a bit weird, he's from another world! He probably thinks we're weird too. You shouldn't criticize him, it's our fault he's here, not his!"  
  
"Alright, alright!" shouted Agrias, rolling her eyes, "To bad Alma, Ovelia, Beowulf, Orlandu, Reis, and Meliadoul couldn't come!"  
  
"They're rebuilding Orbonne Monastery. That Bloody Angel made a big mess. Thank God you got rid of her, Ramza!" Delita said, smiling.  
  
"Thanks," said Ramza, "But we all did it! We are all heroes!"  
  
"They took Worker 8 and Byblos!" Agrias shouted, changing the subject back to their missing party members, "It would take a lot less work to set up this party if they were here!"  
  
"They're needed more at Orbonne," Ramza said.  
  
"I guess…" Agrias said.  
  
"Hey look, guys!" Rafa shouted, pointing at the giant bush Algus was in.  
  
"What is it?" Malak asked.  
  
"That's a huge bush! I bet I could find plenty of berries for Algus' birthday cake!"  
  
"Then go pick some berries!" Malak said, rolling his eyes. Rafa started walking towards the bush. The monsters were bustling frantically. They had nowhere to run or hide! They had no choice but to stay put and pray that Rafa turned and went back. Algus thanked the lucky stars that she didn't. Rafa walked straight over to the bush, expecting to find a lot of berries, but not expecting to find anything else. She reached her hands out and picked a single berry off of the bush, but there weren't many on the outside, so Rafa, who was still giggling at the thought of Algus' happy face, parted apart of the gargantuan bush and peeped her head inside, hoping to find a berry haven, but much to her dreadful shock, she found her poor boyfriend being pinned to the ground with blood and bruises all over him, his mouth being held shut and surprised looking monsters all around him. She looked at Algus' teary and bloody face for a moment, then at the hideous monsters, then came to her senses and screamed at the top of her lungs, pulling her head out of the bush. The entire party looked at Rafa curiously.  
  
"What's wrong!?" Agrias asked. Rafa just screamed louder, at the point where they had to cover their ears, pointing to the bush. Agrias slowly walked over to it, pushing her head inside, looking at the horrible sight. She screamed loudly as well, causing the rest of the party to hurry over. Suddenly, all of the monsters jumped out of the bush in front of them, still clutching poor Algus tightly. The entire party (except for Agrias and Rafa, who were breathing hard, their faces white with shock and fear) gasped loudly at the horrible site.  
  
"Algus!!!" Ramza shouted, a terrified look on his face.  
  
"Ramza…help!" Algus said, his mouth now free. Soon Ramza's face turned from shock and fear into hatred and anger. He clenched his fists and growled softly, looking at all of the monsters. It certainly wasn't going to be an easy battle that was for sure! There were a ton of monsters. There was one behemoth, one king behemoth, one gobbledeguck, 5 bombs, 5 skeletons, and 5 goblins! Ramza looked at all of the monsters quickly, studying them, while getting angrier and angrier. His face had turned bloody red and his fists were shaking. Although he didn't notice, but the rest of the party was furious as well, and ready to attack with their swords and rods drawn. Ramza stepped forwards, ready to deliver a blow to the monsters, who luckily weren't ready to attack, having Algus to deal with. Ramza raised his sword above head, yelling loudly, ready to kill. But suddenly, Rafa, who was absolutely enraged, ran in front of Ramza, her hands glowing a wild red. Her eyes were glowing a deep maroon and her teeth were clenched. She raised her hands above her head, shouting loudly.  
  
"SKY DEMON!!!!!" She shouted, pointing her hands at the monsters. Suddenly, fierce purple blast started to simultaneously explode in all directions as a symbol of Rafa's raging fury. The purple blasts crashed into 2 goblins, killing them immediately, but then, something awful happened. One of the purple shots hit another goblin, killing it, but that goblin was holding Algus, and the blast hit him too! He rolled to the ground with the goblin, laying on top of the creature, moaning softly as if he was just barely clinging to life.  
  
"NO!!!!!" Rafa screamed, tears streaking down her red cheeks. She fell on her knees, sobbing into her palms, which turned out to be a very bad mistake. One of the skeletons took advantage of her weakness towards Algus and quickly sent a ball of thunder zooming towards her. Rafa looked up fearfully as the lightning came closer. She gasped, closing her eyes tightly, waiting for the blow. All of a sudden, Malak jumped in front on Rafa, spreading his arms and legs, protecting Rafa. The thunder blast hit Malak directly in the chest. The electricity spread like wildfire all over his body, making him scream uncontrollably. He fell to the ground, Rafa catching him in her arms.  
  
"Malak!!!!!" Rafa said, weeping loudly. Malak looked up at his sister weakly.  
  
"I'll be...ok…" Malak said, but then be moaned loudly, clutching his chest. Rafa looked down upon her brother, her tears quickly turning to anger. She kissed her older brother's forehead softly and laid his head on the ground gently. She then stood up, fire in her eyes, but it was Agrias who acted next. She stepped in front of the monsters, her sword in front of her.  
  
"Monster formation!!!" shouted the gobbledeguck. When he said this, all of the monsters formed one single, straight line. Agrias smirked evilly, raising her Save the Queen high above her head.   
  
"HOLY EXPLOSION!!!!!" Agrias shouted, swinging her sword down and pointing it at the line of monsters. Immediately a brilliant flash descended from heaven. It then swept across the monsters like a tornado, striking them with the wrath and power of God. Immediately another goblin went down to join the other dead ones. The other one goblin was in critical condition, but they are only goblins. Goblins are weak; in fact, they are the weakest of the monsters, so of course Ramza and company still had a lot of work to do. Now the monsters spread out, ready to attack fully. Two skeletons sent two lighting balls at Agrias, striking her with a bright flash. The party heard Agrias' shrilly screams through the light. When the light had gone, Agrias was on her knees, panting and moaning slightly. Ramza ran over to her, enveloping her in his arms, after all, Ramza was Agrias' boyfriend. Ramza then let go of her, looking at the monsters with a furious sneer, who were all giggling happily. He raised his Chaos Blade high above his head, yelling at the top of his lungs. He ran at the enemies, who had retreated several yards, with his Venetian Shield held out in front of him, his sword still raised above him, ready to bring it down fiercely on an enemy, and it did. Ramza ran boldly up to the king behemoth, slashing it angrily with is sword. The king behemoth growled loudly, backing away. Ramza's blow had been extremely strong, but not enough to kill it, as all types of behemoths had an extraordinarily large amount of HP. Ramza backed away quickly, but the monsters were now on their guard and were approaching quickly. Ramza backed up until he was beside Delita, who had his Ragnarok out and ready for battle. The two of them held their swords out, defending their position as the monsters charged at them, yelling. Ramza and Delita raised their swords, ready to attack. Then, the real battle started as the monsters came to Ramza and Delita. The two young heroes swung and sliced at the enemy forces, killing two skeletons, the behemoth, and the king behemoth, but not without getting severely sliced, pummeled, clawed, and bit. The monsters backed away, most of them exhausted, but Ramza and Delita were weaker. They fell to their knees, gasping. Suddenly the three remaining skeletons started kicking Ramza and Delita, who dropped on their faces, holding their bruised stomachs, moaning. It seemed helpless now. Nothing could help them.  
  
"ASURA BACK!!!!!" shouted Malak suddenly, who was standing up weakly, his hands glowing red. Suddenly blast of fire shot in every direction, striking one of the skeletons, killing it, but missing the others. Malak then fell to the ground again, exhausted and still in a lot of pain. Now there was truly no one to save them. They were going to die, and poor Algus on his birthday of all days. Ramza tilted his head weakly towards the ground, tears slowly forming in his sapphire eyes. He was losing everything, his friends, his family (that pretty much only included his adopted brother, Delita, and a few distant relatives), and, of course, his beloved Agrias, who he had grown to love more than life itself. He whimpered softly, tears overtaking him. But then, he heard voices in the distance, voices not far away!  
  
"Can we rest, Mustadio?" came a voice. Then Ramza and company heard the voice of their good friend, Mustadio.  
  
"No, Rad, we're almost there. Plus, we're already late enough!" Just then Mustadio walked into view of the bloody battle with 4 chemists, two males, two females, "So, Alicia, are you sure you know how to bake a…OH MY GOD!!!!!" Mustadio shouted, now seeing the terrible battle, all of his friends helpless to the enemies. He pulled out his Blast Gun from its case around his waist. The two male chemists each pulled out a Blaze Gun and the two female chemists pulled out Glacier Guns out of their gun cases (For those who don't know, Blast Gun is Lightning a lightning elemental gun, Blaze Gun is Ice, and Glacier Gun is Fire (I don't know why they are like that, the Glacier and Blaze Guns should be switched around, but that is the way they are)). Mustadio and the chemists dropped the heavy bags of flour and party decorations they carried and ran over to the monsters. Mustadio quickly fired his Blast Gun at a skeleton. Suddenly, a large lightning bolt fell out of the sky and crashed onto the skeleton, killing it. Mustadio smirked, blowing the end of his gun. The two female chemists fired at another skeleton. Fire swept over the skeleton, killing it as well. The two male chemists fired at the last skeleton. Large glaciers fell onto it, killing it instantly. Mustadio cheered. He saw no more monsters, and he thought that the battle was over. The chemists huddled around Mustadio. They didn't see the 5 bombs sneaking up on them, commanded by the gobbledeguck. Soon, Alisha heard them sneaking up and turned around, then screamed. The bombs were right in their faces and the Gobbledeguck was far behind them. Mustadio pointed his gun at the bombs, ready to attack, but suddenly the bombs began to glow, yelling loudly. Mustadio knew what was coming. They were going to self-destruct.  
  
"RUN!!!!!" he yelled, but it was too late. One bomb suddenly exploded triggering the other four to explode as well. The explosion was massive, and covered the entire battlefield. When the exploding had stopped, all five of the bombs had died. Floating as little wisps of red smoke. Mustadio, Ramza, Delita, everybody was laying on the ground, all of them unconscious and dying. The gobbledeguck then came out of hiding behind several trees, laughing hideously. Ramza and company had lost, and were soon going to die. Suddenly, the gobbledeguck's ears perked up. He heard feet! Someone was coming! The gobbledeguck stared in the distance with his sharp eyes. A human was coming! He hid behind a nearby tree, ready to ambush the unlucky human.   
  
Cloud, who was that certain human, soon strolled into the battlefield.  
  
"I hope I'm not going to be late," Cloud said to himself out loud, getting ever closer to Ramza and the rest of them, "They've done a lot for me since I've been here. Ramza brought me in and gave me shelter. He's a really nice guy, I just wanna repay him…OH GODS!!!!!" Cloud shouted as he came upon all of his friends lying motionless on the ground. But he didn't have long to think about it, because the gobbledeguck then tackled him from behind, pinning Cloud to the ground. He turned Cloud over harshly, curling his fist.  
  
"GOBLIN PUNCH!!!!!" the gobbledeguck yelled in scratchy voice. His fist glowed bright yellow as he punched Cloud in his abdomen, making him yell in agony. The gobbledeguck laughed cruelly, backing away from Cloud quickly. Cloud slowly stood up, coughing weakly. He pulled his Materia Blade out of its case. He held it up weakly, barely able to hold the gigantic sword. The punch had weakened him quite a bit; he was also having another severe headache. He seemed to get them quite frequently since he came into this world, and he supposed they were happening because his brain was adjusting to the new world, but he did wish that it hadn't had started then. He looked deeply at the gobbledeguck, getting more angry as a wide smirk appeared on the wretched monster's face, as if it was satisfied and very happy to have harmed Cloud, not to mention hurt Cloud's friends. Cloud snarled angrily, raising his sword higher, thinking of an attack before he started to glow red. Cloud's shocked eyes looked at himself, glowing brightly. He wondered what in the world (or worlds) was making him glow! He gasped softly as a tingling, burning sensation spread throughout his body. All of a sudden, he began to yell uncontrollably, his muscles pulsing and flexing. He started to levitate, his hair wildly dancing on his head.  
  
"W…WHAT'S GOING ON!!!???" Cloud shouted. He held his sword above his head, unable to stop himself. His sword was also glowing in a fiery pink.  
  
"W…What?" said Ramza weakly, who had awaken from his unconsciousness and was now looking at Cloud's glowing form.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" shouted Cloud louder in a horrible jolt of pain. Suddenly, his eyes began to glow pink as well as the sword. He then let out a painful scream, pointing his sword at the gobbledeguck forcefully.  
  
"CHERRY BLOSSOM!!!!!" Cloud shouted through agonizing screams. Suddenly, blasts upon blasts of red explosions hit the gobbledeguck, covering him completely. The blast continued to come very loudly, but not as loudly as Cloud's screams of agony. Poor Cloud was in more pain than he ever thought was possible, and it seemed that it would never stopped, but suddenly it did. Everything ceased at once, the explosions and Cloud's terrifying screams as Cloud fell face down into the earth. Ramza peered around weakly. The gobbledeguck was on the ground as well, clearly dead. The battle was finally over, but it seemed as if both armies had lost. What was Ramza going to do now? He hardly had the energy to blink or breathe, much less do anything to save his friends. All of a sudden, he spotted something glinting on the ground. He peered harder at it, realizing that it was a Phoenix Down. Ramza then started to crawl very slowly towards it, barely clinging to life. Soon he reached it. He picked it up. It was soft and lightless. He figured that one of the chemists must have dropped it. He looked around again, seeing that a chemist was but a couple of feet away. Slowly he began to crawl again towards the chemist, who he recognized as Rad. He reached the young man. He slowly placed the Phoenix Down on Rad's chest. Suddenly the Phoenix Down began to glow red. It floated above Rad, glowing even brighter. Suddenly the Phoenix Down snapped and fell to the ground softly. Rad slowly opened his eyes, looking around. He spotted Ramza next to him.  
  
"H…Help…" Ramza said weakly before closing his eyes again, gone. Rad weakly stood up. He reached into the pouch on his back and pulled out an X-Potion, snapping the glass bottle in half above his head, letting the green, glowing fluid drench him, rejuvenating his health. He then pulled several Phoenix Downs out of his pouch. He busied himself with reviving his fellow chemists, who healed themselves and got to work reviving the other fallen allies.  
  
Soon Ramza and all of his friends were standing up, feeling very refreshed after several X-Potions, all of them, except for Algus. The entire group had gathered around his body, forming a circle.  
  
"Oh, Algus, I'm so sorry…" said Rafa, crying, "I'm sorry this happened on your birthday!" She then held out her hand, signaling Rad to give her a Phoenix Down. Rad placed one in her hand. She quickly laid it on her lover's chest. It glowed brightly and floated above Algus before snapping and falling to the ground. Algus then slowly opened his eyes, looking at all of his friends around him. He smiled softly. Rad then used an X-Potion on Algus, healing him. He stood up and Rafa put her arms around him, embracing him in a loving hug. He did the same, sighing lightly. It was finally over.  
  
"Thank you," Algus said, looking at all of his friends.  
  
"No problem!" said Mustadio cheerfully, "Oh, and, by the way, happy birthday!" Algus smiled weakly.  
  
"We still have to throw you a party, Algus!" Agrias said loudly, "We still have all of the supplies. Luckily they weren't damaged during battle."  
  
"Let's hike a bit further. I don't think we want the party to be on this bloody battleground," Delita said. But Algus was still a bit shaken from his very unpleasant experience.  
  
"Can't…can't we just…go back to the Inn we were staying at?" Algus asked timidly. Rafa just laughed happily, hugging Algus.  
  
"It's ok, Algus-chan!" said Rafa happily.  
  
"You know I don't like being called that!" said Algus, but Rafa just continued, ignoring Algus' remark.  
  
"We're going to have best birthday party ever!!! And we are going to have it here in the forest, because I promise that no more monsters will hurt you!!!" And with that Rafa hugged Algus tightly and kissed him on the cheek, causing Algus to moan unpleasantly, being both sore and embarrassed about Rafa's behavior in front of everybody else.  
  
"Well…" said Ramza, his face red from trying not to laugh, "Let's start walking! And I promise, Algus, everything will be fine!" And with that, the whole party started to follow Ramza, who was leading them on the path across the battlefield, deeper into the woods.   
  
If there was just one good thing that had come out of the day so far, it would be the tremendous weather they were having. Everything was as perfect as it was when Algus was walking alone. Algus was indeed very happy at the moment. Rafa was walking beside him, holding on to his arm tightly. Friends, friends who hadn't forgotten about his birthday after all, also surrounded Algus! Algus looked forward at Ramza, who was also holding Agrias' hands.   
  
'They make the perfect couple,' Algus thought to himself happily. He looked at Rafa, who was leaning her head against Algus' shoulder, a small smile on her face.  
  
Soon the party had come to another clearing, and to the party's great relief, there were no giant bushes in site.  
  
"Well, let's set up!" Malak shouted. The rest of them cheered. Algus smiled, picking up a large sack of flour and carrying it over to the chemist, Alicia, who was the designated baker.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" shouted Alicia, grabbing the flour away from Algus, "This is your birthday! You are going to relax! You deserve it!"  
  
"Thanks…" said Algus, a bit puzzled.  
  
"Come on!" said Rafa, tugging on Algus' arm, "Grab one of those blankets!" Algus did as he was told, grabbing a blanket from the pile of things brought for the party. Rafa took it and spread it out neatly at a corner of the clearing, in front of several bushes. Algus examined the bushes before sitting on the blanket with Rafa, happy to see no monsters.   
  
"Sit down!" Rafa said. Algus sat on the blanket, looking at the rest of his friends busying themselves about 30 feet away.   
  
"They're doing all of this…for me…" said Algus quietly. Rafa simply nodded. She suddenly pushed Algus down. Then she laid her head on Algus' chest and sighed happily. Algus smirked, running his hand through her silky, brown hair.  
  
"I love you, Algus," Rafa said quietly.  
  
"I love you to, Rafa," said Algus sweetly, kissing Rafa on the cheek. Rafa sighed again, nuzzling her head into Algus' chest, hugging him. Algus stared at the sky above him. The sky was a beautiful blue and was dotted with a couple white puffs of clouds. The sun shined brightly through the trees and into the clearing of grass. Algus looked across the field at his friends. They were making a lot of noise as they hung sparkling banners from the few trees in the clearing. Alicia (with help from Rad) was busy building a quick, small oven out of bricks she had brought along. Ramza and Delita were sparring together and Mustadio was sitting on a blanket with his gun out, watching for monsters. Cloud, Agrias, Malak, and the other 2 chemists were busy hanging the banners and decorating the clearing as best as they could. Algus was surprised to see that Cloud was smiling and laughing as he ran away from Agrias with a banner. Agrias beckoned for him to come back, before he chased him herself, both of them laughing. Rafa suddenly sat up, pulling Algus up as well.  
  
"I'm going to go pick some berries, then help cook, ok Algus-chan?" said Rafa.  
  
"Ok…" said Algus dreamily, "But don't call me Algus-chan!"  
  
"Ok Algus-chan!" Rafa said with a giggle as she stood up and walked towards the now built oven. Algus rolled his eyes, then laid back down. Algus looked around once more, before drifting to sleep to dream, but his dream would not be a pleasant one.  
  
"Algus dreamt that he was deep in the forest, under monster captivity again. They were holding him down while beating him brutally. He was covered in blood and was too weak to scream for help. Every portion of his body ached. Suddenly, he saw a figure come into sight. When the figure got closer, Algus recognized it as Rafa, all alone.  
  
"Rafa…run!" Algus said weakly. Rafa screamed when she noticed the monsters holding Algus, dropping her basket filled with berries. Suddenly 2 skeletons grabbed Rafa and brought her to Algus. The monsters chuckled darkly, holding a crying Rafa right in front of Algus. One skeleton took his bladed hand and stuck it through Rafa. Algus screamed loudly, crying desperately.  
  
"OH GOD!!! NO!!!!!" Algus shouted, watching blood come out of Rafa's mouth.  
  
"A…Al…Algus…" said Rafa weakly, before falling to the ground, dead. Algus screamed, tears streaming down his eyes. Suddenly the monsters began to torture him again. Suddenly everything went black.  
  
Algus opened his eyes quickly. He was laying on the blanket, back in the clearing. Sweat drops fell from his face. Algus looked at his pale white, shaking hand to discover that there was no blood. Algus felt his wet face. He had been crying. He sat up slowly. Everybody was over by the oven. There was now a table set up, piled with food. Rad was resting with Alicia, both of them hugging. Ramza was sitting down with Delita and Agrias, talking. Mustadio was sitting with Cloud, still watching for monsters and talking.  
  
"How did you do that move at the battlefield!?" Algus heard Mustadio ask Cloud loudly.  
  
"I…I don't know…It just sort of…happened…" Cloud replied.  
  
The other 2 chemists were tending to the cooking food with Rafa. The sun was now in the clearing. Algus must have been sleeping for quite a while. He stood up slowly and walked over to the rest of the. They all looked at him, making Algus feel rather embarrassed.  
  
"Did you have a good nap?" Ramza asked, breaking the silence.  
  
"Yes," Algus lied. He walked over to Rafa and kissed her tenderly, wrapping his arms around her. The rest of the party went back to what they were doing, feeling they shouldn't watch. When Algus released Rafa, Rafa giggled.  
  
"Your in a loving mood!" Rafa said, staring deeply into Algus' passionate eyes.  
  
"I love you more than anything," said Algus, hugging Rafa tightly, "And I'll never let anything happen to you…" He kissed Rafa again, but more romantically. He slid his tongue past her lips, tasting her sweetness. Rafa sighed weakly, her knees wobbling. Algus held her back steady so that she wouldn't fall. Algus deepened the kiss, tasting all of Rafa, moaning slightly. The kiss seemed to last a decade when suddenly, it was over. Algus slowly released Rafa, who was blushing profusely.  
  
"A…Algus…" Rafa said weakly. She looked deeply at Algus, who was blushing as well. Algus kissed Rafa one quick and final time before turning around. The rest of the group was watching their every move, unable to resist the temptation of watching. Rafa and Algus blushed even more, their faces blood red. All of a sudden, Delita whistled loudly, then clapped even louder. Soon, all of the guys joined in clapping while the girls whispered excitedly to each other. Rafa and Algus stood, confused and shocked. They soon walked over and sat down on the blanket Ramza, Delita, and Agrias were sitting on, still blushing.  
  
"Good job, Algus!" said Delita, patting Algus on the back.  
  
"Th…thanks…I guess…" said Algus. Rafa giggled a little.  
  
"Hey, everyone!" Alicia suddenly shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. She was holding a gargantuan cake in her hands that she could hardly lift. The cake said "Happy Birthday Algus!" on it and had berries on the side, "Let's hear it for the man of the day!"  
  
"HOORAY!!!!!!!" Everyone shouted. Soon, they all burst out into chorus, singing happy birthday to Algus. Even Cloud joined in the singing. Algus blushed once again as everyone sang, then clapped. Alicia sat the cake down and cut into it with a knife, handing the first piece to Algus, who was smiling. This was indeed Algus' best birthday ever, despite evil monsters, he finally had friends that loved him and cared for him. And you know what, he loved them and cared for them right back.   
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
